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\"The reunion was emotional,\" Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal told ABC News on Monday. \"Anyone who has a kid understands losing a kid for 10 minutes in the mall ... [these] parents went through 44 hours of that and didn’t get any sleep and to finally see the kids safe and sound it was an emotional release, absolutely.\"

The girls told authorities they didn't take any food or fresh water with them on their misadventure, although rescuers said they found granola bar wrappers near their boot prints that led them in the direction of the children.

The girls told rescuers that they drank rainwater from the huckleberry leaves, which their parents taught them to do.

Honsal added that one of the best survival lessons the girls utilized was to stay put in their \"huckleberry home\" once they realized they were lost.

\"Hypothermia could have set in, but they kept dry,\" Honsal told ABC News. \"That was the key thing for these girls.\"

The girls said they heard a National Guard Black Hawk helicopter overhead searching for them and that they yelled for help but no one heard them.

When the girls heard Crumley and Hill yelling out their names, they answered back and were rescued.

\"When our searchers found them ... they were in good spirits. Rescuers were surprised. They were happy to see them,\" said Honsal, who on Sunday described finding the girls safe and sound as \"a miracle.\"

The sisters were taken to a local hospital, where they were checked out and given pizza.

\"As far as their appearances go, no scratches, they weren't wet,\" Honsal said. \"They were smart enough to stay under canopies of tall trees and stay near tree trunks. They hiked all the way to the location and stopped when they knew they were lost. That was exactly what they were supposed to do. They looked like they were out for a stroll, like they were gone an hour from the house. They were anxious to see their parents.\"

The girls said they will never go far away from their house again until they have a GPS tracker on them, which their mother has already ordered.

\"I'm trying not to punish them,\" Misty Carrico said. \"They saved each other. I'm the proud mom. I raised super heroes.\"

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